Scientists are closely concerned with the structure of buildings and with the quality of building materials． The World health Organization （WHO) observes that the introduction of air conditioning and energy conservation （保护) measures have been accompanied by growing problems of indoor air quality． Some pollutants arise from insulation （隔音) products, some from moving cars, and others from modern housing materials． As many Europeans spend up to 90% of their lives in buildings, the health effects of the indoor climate are very important．

　　Some construction materials, including fiberboard, insulation foams and certain glues for man-made wood floor boards, for example, give out organic products such as formaldehyde （甲醛)． Heat and humidity increase the release of formaldehyde and the gas seriously harms the eyes． Paint, lacquer, etc． can also release dangerous gas into indoor air．

　　Construction materials can cause serious damage, especially when they contain asbestos（石棉）． Asbestos is naturally present in rock formations worldwide． It belongs to a family of mineral substances made up of solid, non-combustible（非易燃品） fiber． These properties make asbestos a highly sought-after construction material． As early as 1931, however, public health officers in the United Kingdom revealed the connection between breathing in asbestos dust and such diseases as lung cancer．

　　The land on which a building is sited may also contribute to pollution． Some kinds of granite or similar rocks contain traces of radium． As it breaks down, this naturally radioactive element produces some kind of radioactive gas that goes through tiny cracks in walls, floors and building materials, and makes its way into the building and the rooms． The better the homes are insulated, the more is the dangerous gas in indoor air． The main effect of this dangerous gas on health is to increase the risk of lung cancer．

What is the main idea of the passage?

    A．Some building materials pollute indoor air．

    B．Some factors cause indoor air pollution．

    C．Asbestos can cause lung cancer．

    D．The land on which houses are built contributes to indoor pollution．

Why are Europeans particularly concerned with building materials?

    A．Lots of building materials there are radioactive．

    B．They stay home up to 90% of their lives．

    C．They have a high rate of lung cancer．

    D．They spend most of their time indoors．

Why is asbestos a sought-after building material?

    A．It is a kind of insulation foam．

    B．Asbestos will not give out dangerous gas．

    C．This material is not easy to catch fire．

    D．It is rarely present in rock formations．

Why should we be careful about the land on which a building is to be sited?

    A．To determine whether the land is firm enough for a building to be sited on．

    B．To make sure that the land contains no radioactive material．

    C．To make certain that the land releases no formaldehyde or other gases．

    D．To check whether it contains any combustible materials．

阅读理解

　　The kids at Shute Country Primary School in Devon are surprisingly quiet when it's time to go home in the afternoon. Instead of the usual shouting and running you can hear them asking each other,“Are the lights all off?”“Shall we check the taps in case they are dripping?”“How many paper towels did we use today?”

　　But it's not unusual here. The kids have declared a war on waste.

　　“We've never made the children do anything.”explained Liz Templar, the school's head teacher.“They came up with all the ideas themselves. They're doing this because they want to.”

　　If you take a look around the school you won't see anything thrown away unnecessarily. Everything is collected and reused, or sent to be recycled.

　　Shute School started its green revolution two years ago. They looked carefully at every part of school life--from the teaching to the cleaning. They looked at the stationery(文具) that was used--especially photocopying, the way cleaning was carried out, and how food was used--and wasted!

　　Even parents were looked at: how many children came in each car? Did they use unleaded petrol? Could they bring more children in fewer cars?

　　High on the list was the waste of paper. Next came unfriendly cleaning products. Paper towels were replaced with recycled paper, but the hardest thing for the kids was when they found out how much rubbish was created by the chocolate, crisps and other snacks(小吃) eaten at lunch time. Of their own accord(自愿地), the children gave them up. Now they bring apples and home-made snacks.

　　The school has its own garden where they grow vegetables and flowers so that they can learn about the environment. They also use this area for their recycling store--large containers to collect aluminium, bottles, paper and fabric(织物).

　　Even the school's play area is made from recycled things.

　　Since the children started, the school's heating and lighting bills have fallen obviously and the number of rubbish bags has gone down from seven a week to two or three.

　　Everywhere in Shute School there are bright posters asking everyone to take their rubbish home, to save energy and paper and to keep the green flag flying.

1．Which of the following is the major information we get from the passage?

[　　]

A．The pupils at Shute School are fighting against air pollution.

B．The pupils at Shute School are learning to save things.

C．The pupils at Shute School have declared a war on waste.

D．The pupils at Shute School have found a way to recycle waste things.

2．Children at Shute Country Primary School bring apples and home-made snacks to school in order to _____.

A．create less rubbish

B．save money

C．obey the school's rules

D．keep their promise

3．We can infer from the text that“green revolution” means _____.

[　　]

A．beautifying schoolyard

B．activity against waste

C．planting green plants

D．throwing away waste

4．What do the children think creates the most waste?

[　　]

A．Paper towels.

B．Cleaning products.

C．Snacks.

D．Paper.

5．We learn from the text that the children's behavior _____.

[　　]

A．has brought arguments

B．has saved the school's cost

C．worried their parents

D．was forced by their head teacher

完形填空

阅读下面短文，从短文后所给各题的四个选项（A、B、C、D）中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。

Many children may be fond of animals, but few ever think of making the study of animals their career(职业).Even fewer will be   1    by the whole world,   2    the title of United Nations Messenger(使者) of Peace.

But one woman has    3    all that. She has lived with chimpanzees in the African forest for more than 20 years and made great    4   .This woman is Jane Goodall. She was born in London, England, in 1934.Goodall’s lifelong    5    in animals began at an early age. By the age of 10 or 11,Goodall    6    going to Africa to live with animals. This was quite a strange dream in those days, as young    7    didn’t think of having such “wild” actions. But she was   8    by her mother. She told her that if she really wanted something, she should work hard, take advantage of   9   and never give up looking for a way.

When a close friend invited Goodall to Kenya in 1957,she readily   10   .Within a few months of her arrival she met the famous anthropologist(人类学家) Dr. Louis Leakey, who soon decided that Goodall was the    11    person he was looking for to begin a    12    of wild chimpanzees on the shore of Lake Tanganyika in Tanzania.

In July 1960, Goodall arrived at Gombe National Park in Tanzania. At the beginning, studying the chimpanzees was not    13   for her. The animals fled from her   14   , so it took months for her to get close to them. With a strong   15   , she searched the forest every day, trying not to get too close to the chimpanzees too   16   . Gradually the chimpanzees became used to her presence.

She discovered many things of chimpanzees during her first years at Gombe National Park. In October 1960,she observed a chimpanzee making and using   17    to fish for termites (白蚁).This discovery threw    18    on the popular idea at the time that Man was the world’s only toolmaker. The longer Goodall’s research continues, the more it becomes obvious that chimpanzees are very   19    to humans.

Since the mid-1980s, Goodall has been lecturing around the world to raise people’s sense about environmental    20   . “Let’s live in the new age with hope, respect for all living things, understanding and love,” she said.

1.A. recognized　　  　　　　　　  B. known　　　　　　　　　　 C. accepted　　　　   D. admitted

2.A.receiving　　　　　　　　　　   B. giving　　　　　　    C. enjoying　　　　    D. having

3.A.done　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B. proved　　　　　　　　　　 C. achieved　　　　    D. realized

4.A.discoveries　　　　　　　　    B. decisions　　　　   C. choices　　　　　　 D. findings

5.A.study　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　   B. interest　　　　　　  C. sense　　　　   &n

bsp;    D. dream

6.A.was fond of 　　　　　　　　 B. tired of　　　　　　  C. insisted on 　　　　　　  D. dreamed of

7.A.boys　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B. girls　　　　　　　　  C. men　　　　　　　　  D. women

8.A.encouraged　　　　　　　　    B. prevented　　　　  C. advised　　　　　　 D. forced

9.A.knowledge　　　　　　　　　　 B. youth　　　　　　    C. hope　　　　　　　　 D. chances

10.A.accepted　　　　　　　　　　  B. refused　　　　　　  C. hesitated　　　　    D. considered

11.A.only　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B. last　　　　　　　　   C. special　　　　　　　　　　 D. first

12.A.project　　　　　　　　　　　　 B. study　　　　　　    C. center　　　　　　   D. career

13.A.hard　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　   B. interesting　　　　  C. easy　　　　　　　　  D. convenient

14.A.in surprise　　　　　　　　    B. in a hurry　　　　  C. as expected　　　　　　  D. in fear

15.A.will　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B. body　　　　　　　　 C. desire　　　　　　    D. mind

16.A.far　　　　　　　　　　　　　　  B. near　　　　　　　　  C. soon　　　　　　　　 D. much

17.A.nets　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B. tools　　　　　　　　 C. holes　　　　　　　　 D. spoon

18.A.doubt　　　　　　　　　　　　  B. light　　　　　　　　  C. questions　　　　   D. beliefs

19.A.close　　　　　　　　　　　　   B. similar　　　　　　   C. friendly　　　　　　 D. helpful

20.A.improvement　　　　　　    B. protection　　　　  C. pollution　　　　    D. destruction

 

   Sustainable development is applied to just about everything from energy to clean water and economic growth, and as a result it has become difficult to question either the basic assumptions behind it or the way the concept is put to use. This is especially true in agriculture, where sustainable development is often taken as the only measure of progress without a proper appreciation of historical and cultural perspectives.

   To start with, it is important to remember that the nature of agriculture has changed markedly throughout history, and will continue to do so. Medieval agriculture in northern Europe fed, clothed and sheltered a popularly rural society with a much lower population density than it is today. It had smallest effect on biodiversity, and any pollution it caused was typically localized. In terms of energy use and the nutrients captured in the product it was relatively inefficient.

   Contrast this with farming since the start of the industrial revolution. Competition from overseas led farmers to specialize and increase yields. Throughout this period food became cheaper, safer and more reliable. However, these changes have also led to habitat loss and to decreasing biodiversity.

   What’s more, demand for animal products in developing countries is growing so fast that meeting it will require an extra 300 million tons of grain a year by 2050.yet the growth of cities and industry is reducing the amount of water available for agriculture in many regions.

   All this means that agriculture in the 21^st century will have to be very different from how it was in the 20th. This will require complete thinking. For example, we need to move away from the idea that traditional practices are unavoidably more sustainable than new ones. We also need to abandon the idea that agriculture can be “zero impact”. The key will be to abandon the rather simple and unchangeable measures of sustainability, which centre on the need to maintain production without increasing damage.

   Instead we need a more dynamic explanation, one that looks at the pros and cons of all the various way land is used. There are many different ways to measure agricultural performance besides food yield: energy use, environmental costs, water purity, carbon footprint and biodiversity. It is clear, for example, that the carbon of transporting tomatoes from Spain to the UK is less than that of producing them in the UK with additional heating and lighting. But we do not know whether lower carbon footprints will always be better for biodiversity.

   What is critical is recognizing that sustainable agriculture is not just about sustainable food production.

1.How do people often measure progress in agriculture?

A．By its productivity.               

B．By its impact on the environment.

C．By its sustainability.               

D．By its contribution to economic growth.

2.What does the author think of traditional farming practices?

　　A．They have remained the same over the centuries.

　　B．They have not kept pace with population growth.

　　C．They are not necessarily sustainable.

　　D．They are environmentally friendly.

3.What will agriculture be like in the 21st century?

　　A．It will go through thorough changes.

　　B．It will supply more animal products.

　　C．It will abandon traditional farming practices.

　　D．It will cause zero damage to the environment.

4.What is the author’s purpose in writing this passage?

　　A．To remind people of the need of sustainable development.

　　B．To suggest ways of ensuring sustainable food production.

　　C．To advance new criteria for measuring farming progress.

　　D．To urge people to rethink what sustainable agriculture is.